Evolution of a neighborhood
The land that is Denver was part of Arapaho and Cheyenne territory recognized by the Treaty of Fort Laramie, but the discovery of gold in the Rockies led to encroachment by settlers as they moved West in the Gold Rush. The railroad came, Denver began to develop, and the first residential neighborhood was Curtis Park. It was an affluent place, with brick homes built in many architectural styles, but it was also a place where those of different economic status and religions (Christians and Jews) lived together. But it wasn't long before other neighborhoods were built, and residents migrated to newer and "nicer" places, and Curtis Park went into decline, African Americans, who were kept out of other neighborhoods by redlining moved here, and during WWII, Japanese-Americans facing relocation to internment camps came, and the area became more and more Mexican American as well. Neal Cassady, the beat writer (born in 1926), grew up in a boarding house here with his alcoholic father, and later, Jack Kerouac ("On the Road"), Neal Cassady and their gang made the area one of the layovers and temporary residences between restless wanderings to the coasts and Mexico City to the South. The area continued its decline until "gentrification" by young Whites started, initially in the 1990s, only to falter after 2008 Great Recession. More recently, gentrification has taken deep root and houses going for millions are not uncommon. The building above, in a transitional area, is certain to be renovated once the current real estate market drawback is over, if not before.
Evolution of a neighborhood
The land that is Denver was part of Arapaho and Cheyenne territory recognized by the Treaty of Fort Laramie, but the discovery of gold in the Rockies led to encroachment by settlers as they moved West in the Gold Rush. The railroad came, Denver began to develop, and the first residential neighborhood was Curtis Park. It was an affluent place, with brick homes built in many architectural styles, but it was also a place where those of different economic status and religions (Christians and Jews) lived together. But it wasn't long before other neighborhoods were built, and residents migrated to newer and "nicer" places, and Curtis Park went into decline, African Americans, who were kept out of other neighborhoods by redlining moved here, and during WWII, Japanese-Americans facing relocation to internment camps came, and the area became more and more Mexican American as well. Neal Cassady, the beat writer (born in 1926), grew up in a boarding house here with his alcoholic father, and later, Jack Kerouac ("On the Road"), Neal Cassady and their gang made the area one of the layovers and temporary residences between restless wanderings to the coasts and Mexico City to the South. The area continued its decline until "gentrification" by young Whites started, initially in the 1990s, only to falter after 2008 Great Recession. More recently, gentrification has taken deep root and houses going for millions are not uncommon. The building above, in a transitional area, is certain to be renovated once the current real estate market drawback is over, if not before.